Sunday, March 20, 2016

A Letter to Curious George

Dear Curious George,

I feel guilty about you. You see, you have been entertaining my son for the better part of the morning. I had removed you and your other screen-delivered buddies (Caillou, Daniel Tiger, and the like) from our lives. Your presence had gotten way too strong when the baby was born. So I decided to banish you completely. Almost overnight, I noticed changes in my son's behavior when you were gone, like more willingness to transition through parts of our morning routine, better breakfast eating, greater engagement with toys and people.

But my son found you today, lying in wait on an iPad left in his reach, and here you are again. He's laughing, engaging with you, saying the names of objects he's learned that appear on your show. Also, and here's the true crux of my ambivalence, I'm using his preoccupation to write this letter. After I do, I will probably continue to allow you to entertain my son as I do the dishes, check email, straighten the house.

"Lying in wait on an iPad"...yes. I too, just answered my 11 year old with a "Yes" to get in a bit more writing and breakfast. Solidarity Mama, here's to the dishes, email and a tidy space. May you have a peaceful day!

Love the explanation of your ambivalence..."I'm using you to write this letter" ..I, too, have my daughter plopped in front of Alvin and his chipmunks while I get a little quiet time to post and comment....

Sigh...I feel your pain! CG is my 21-month-old son's favorite too -- very useful in the morning for the 25 minutes I need to shower and get dressed! I also feel guilty about the screen time sometimes, too...

I like your piece. I know we love our children to be creative. I also love how when my daughter is not connected to the computer she spends more time laughing and interacting with us. It is a balancing act that we never quite master, however.

Followers

About Me

I have lived and taught in New Zealand, Honduras, Australia and now call New York City my home. I have a M.A. in Literacy at Columbia University Teachers College, a critical career and life move without which I would not be the educator or person I am today. I had the great fortune to work at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, an organization led by Lucy Calkins and dedicated to profoundly lifting the level of literacy instruction in hundreds of schools in NYC and around the world. Currently, I am a part-time writer, blogger, literacy consultant, and a full-time mother. I am completely besotted with the latter role.
I use this blog to post musings and Slice of Life stories for one of the blogs for which I write, TwoWritingTeachers.wordpress.com. Please check out my professional writing there, and at my Literacy blog, AnnaGCockerilleLiteracy.wordpress.com.